sign in sign up
<<
Home , James Brown, On Our Way Up, Showmance (Glee), Tina Turner, Tony Bennett

5/27/15 11:56 AM

THAT THE CLASSICS ARE AGELESS ARE THE CLASSICS THAT AND LADY PROVE PROVE GAGA AND LADY BENNETT TONY VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2 Untitled-2 2 Steven Klein

418 Sheridan Road Highland Park, IL 60035 847-266-5000 www.ravinia.org

Welz Kauffman President and CEO Nick Pullia Communications Director, Executive Editor Nick Panfil Publications Manager, Editor Alexandra Pikeas Graphic Designer

IN THIS ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS 18 This Boy Does 13 Message from John Anderson Since 1991 Alan Cumming conquers the world stage and Welz Kauffman 3453 Commercial Ave., Northbrook, IL 60062 with a “sappy” song in his . www.performancemedia.us 24 No Keeping Up 59 Foodstuff Gail McGrath Publisher & President puts her soul into energetic 60 Ravinia’s Steans Institute Sheldon Levin Publisher & Director of Finance singing. Account Managers 30 Romance 62 REACH*TEACH*PLAY Sheryl Fisher - Mike Hedge - Arnie Hoffman Tony Bennett and prove that 65 Lawn Clippings Karen Mathis - Greg Pigott the classics are ageless. Salute to Sponsors East Coast 38 Long Train Runnin’ 67 Manzo Media Group 610-527-7047 have earned their 82 Annual Fund Donors Southwest station as rock icons. Betsy Gugick & Associates 972-387-1347 88 Corporate Partners 44 It’s Not Black and White Sales & Marketing Consultant Bobby McFerrin sees his own history 89 Corporate Matching Gifts David L. Strouse, Ltd. 847-835-5197 with Porgy and Bess. 90 Special Gifts Cathy Kiepura Graphic Designer 54 Swan Songs (and Symphonies) Lory Richards Graphic Designer James Conlon recalls his Ravinia themes 91 Board of Trustees A.J. Levin Director of Operations in his final directorial season. Josie Negron Accounting 92 Women’s Board Willie Smith Supervisor Operations Ravinia Associates Earl Love, Wifredo Silva Operations 93 ON OUR COVER 94 Ravinia Administration Steve Dunn Web and Internet Development June 16 – June 21: Alan Cumming For advertising information call 847-770-4621 (photo: Steve Vaccariello); June 22 – June 28: 95 Ravinia Events Sponsors Performance Media & Gail McGrath & Associates, Inc. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (photo: Steven is a Woman Owned Business Patron Information/Phone Numbers Klein); June 29 – July 5: Bobby McFerrin 96 Published by Performance Media/Gail McGrath Associates, Inc. All contents are copyrighted ©2015. All rights reserved. (photo: Carol Friedman); July 6 – July 12: 97 Severe Weather/Park Map Nothing can be reproduced in any manner, whole or part, James Conlon (photo: Todd Rosenberg) without written permission from the publisher. 100 Ravinia Calendar For advertising terms & conditions, visit www.performancemedia.us 105 Program Notes

® Lead Classical Sponsor: Ravinia is supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. OFFICIAL PARTNERS: Discover Card, Official Card • Hyundai, Official Vehicle Midtown Athletic Club, Official Club • Steinway of Northbrook, Official Piano Stella Artois and Goose Island Beer Company, Official Craft and Import Beer Sponsor Terlato Wines, Official Wine Sponsor • United Airlines, Official Airline

#SOCIALUPGRADE your summer with Ravinia’s ticket contests. Keep an eye on our social sites for information on how you can win FREE tickets to Ravinia this summer.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 11 A MESSAGE FROM RAVINIA

Ravinia truly has so much to celebrate this season! Plensa that have come to the festival in the past decade. All In 2015 Ravinia celebrates the accomplishments of an artist these works together greatly contribute to the beauty and and friend who has helped shape so much of our recent his- unique park setting of Ravinia. tory. James Conlon has programmed his final season as music As a young piano student, Ramsey was told to abandon his director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s residency at drive to become a classical because no major orchestra Ravinia with specific composers and pieces that call to mind would hire a black man. This year, however, he achieves his the supreme performances that have defined his association sidelined dream by making his CSO debut as both composer with the festival from his earliest days as a guest conductor in and soloist with his Concerto for and Orchestra, com- the . As music director, he gave us a multiyear, complete missioned by Ravinia for this milestone. With such a backstory, Mahler symphony cycle; the complete Mozart piano concer- it’s no wonder that Ramsey has been so influential in developing tos; high-quality opera performances, including Mozart in Ravinia’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs, which the Martin; a deep concentration on the music of the Russian reach 75,000 people through such initiatives as El Sistema– masters; and his hallmark “Breaking the Silence” series, which based student orchestras and a free family music school. turned our attention back toward the music plunged into obscu- We’re also continuing to celebrate gains in expanding and rity by the Holocaust. Each issue of Ravinia Magazine this developing Ravinia’s audience. We’ve made lawn admission summer will feature a Conlon focus. to all classical concerts free for children and students through We’re also celebrating the 80th birthdays of two Chicago college, and priced most Pavilion seats to all CSO concerts legends who both happen to be Ravinia Life Trustees—fine- at only $25. We’ve expanded our programming over the past arts sculptor Richard Hunt and jazz pianist . several years to bring new listeners to the CSO, even as audi- Richard started Ravinia’s sculpture collection in 1971 by ences for classical music continue to wane worldwide. We contributing his own massive outdoor work Music For A took a page from the CSO’s own handbook downtown to While. Ravinia has commissioned several other pieces from create movie nights, such as this year’s amalgam of Disney’s this artist whose works grace galleries around the world, and Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 (the original soundtracks of which Richard remains influential in the selection and placement of were performed by the and Chicago Symphony new additions, such as significant pieces by Fernando Botero, Orchestras) as well as Danny Elfman’s music from Tim Burton Lynn Chadwick, Boaz Vaadia, and (most recently) Jaume films. Recognizing that movie scores are often the first place

This year Ravinia is celebrating the 80th birthdays of two men who have had (and continue to make) a lasting impression on the festival, sculptor Richard Hunt (left, on his Music For A While) and jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis (above), who his making his CSO debut on August 8 with the world premiere of his Ravinia-commissioned Concerto for Jazz Trio and Orchestra.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 13 A MESSAGE FROM RAVINIA where young people hear the sound of a symphony, orchestras around the world—from to —are program- ming film music to attract new listeners, especially families, to the live symphonic experience. With one of the most extensive chamber series in the world, Ravinia also makes music affordable and accessible with its acclaimed $10 BGH Classics series, through which patrons In his final season as music director of the CSO’s residency, James Con- can experience such headliners such as cellist Alisa Weilerstein lon will be recalling the major musical thrusts be brought to the festival and jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut with the Turtle Island Quartet over the past 10 years, culminating in Ravinia’s first complete concert in our intimate 450-seat, state-of-the-art venue for less than the performance of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. cost of a movie. This series also includes performances by the fiercely talented fellows of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute As a not-for-profit, Ravinia earns about half the money it (RSMI), young professionals who hone their performance needs to make all this work through ticket sales. The rest comes skills with the talented guest artists and educators who perform from private donors and corporate sponsors. And, of course, at Ravinia. we can never thank—or celebrate—them enough. We send a This year the Martin Theatre welcomes superstars at the pin- special welcome and thank-you to Allstate for signing on as nacle of success, from soprano Karita Mattila to pianist Yefim Ravinia’s first Lead Classical Sponsor. Thanks also go to the Bronfman, as well as acclaimed artists who are about to take generous and practical leadership and largesse of our Board the world by storm, such as pianist Igor Levit. This 850-seat of Trustees and Life Trustees; the Women’s Board, the most hall—the only building that dates back to Ravinia’s 1904 con- generous funder in Ravinia’s history; and the Associates Board, struction—is considered one of the finest venues for chamber coming off its most successful Music Matters fundraiser ever. music and recitals. Maybe we don’t about it much or say it aloud, but it Of course, we cannot get through this message without cel- bears decalring in print that every season (indeed, every day) at ebrating this year’s “showmance” of Tony Bennett and Lady Ravinia is a “celebration” of the one before, a thankful nod to Gaga. Not only were their two concerts the fastest selling in the musical continuum that has grown here amid the trees and Ravinia history, but they also exemplify the liquidity of genres breeze since Ravinia was established in 1904. So many genres. and the co-mingling of audiences that is central to Ravinia’s So many artists. So many geniuses with their so many master- identity. And what better time to bring such a glamorous focus to works. Not to mention more memories than any scrapbook can the than in ’s centennial contain. We salute the artists, administrators, and audiences year, when we’ll have artists such as Seth MacFarlane, Ramsey that came before us, and smile at what our future may bring. Lewis, Harry Connick Jr., , Concert Dance Inc., and Thanks for celebrating with us tonight! Frank Sinatra Jr. performing some of these classic songs.

MISSION STATEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION Ravinia is an internationally renowned, not-for-profit music festival that presents outstanding performances by the world’s greatest artists. Ravinia’s principal objectives are • to present performances of a full range of classical music in its open-air Pavilion and enclosed recital halls, by the world’s greatest composers and musicians, along with a variety of other kinds of light classical, jazz and popular music; • to maintain a beautiful park that is welcoming to all and attractive to families in which the music experience is enhanced by a beautiful environment and excellent dining opportunities; • to enable gifted young performers to study under great teach- ers and perform in concert settings; and • to develop broader and more diverse audiences for classical music through education and outreach programs and by main- John L. Anderson Welz Kauffman taining affordable ticket prices. Chairman, President and CEO, Ravinia Festival Association Ravinia Festival Association

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 15 David Lee Simmons, Times-Picayune/Landov

TYPICALLY ATYPICAL Alan Cumming likes to keep his audience, and himself, guessing

By Martin Bernheimer

lan Cumming doesn’t seem inclined to be a nuclear physicist. His credentials as a Sumo wrestler may be dubious. Otherwise A he appears able, and more than willing, to do just about any- thing. And not just do it well but differently—differently, that is, on his own creative terms. Unique must be the most overused, also most misused, descriptive term in the annals of public locution. In Cumming’s case, however, it fits—snugly, mysteriously and comfortably.

18 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 Ravinia gets to sample at least one of his many talents on June 19 when he presents an intimate concert devoted to what he labels “sappy songs” in the Martin Theatre. Accompanied by pia- nist Lance Horne and cellist Eleanor Norton, the artist intriguingly billed as “Scotland’s beloved man-child” is poised to sing ballads and tell stories, though the exact nature of the perfor- mances remain shrouded in mystery. When cornered, however, Cumming offers some illumination. “The sappy songs,” he explains, “are a variety of different styles and genres that all share one thing that makes them sappy: their emotional content. All these songs are ones that I feel I can act when singing, and also many of them are well known and perhaps songs we’d not normally expect me to sing. But I want to make the audience reassess their opinions about them. Also, saying [these] songs are sappy and using that as the title of the show lets the audience know that it’s going to be a certain type of evening, one that has some wit and irony but also hopefully one with some real emotion and connection.” Since spontaneity lies high both in his expressive vocabulary and his modus operandi, Cumming proves a bit cagey about disclosing the specific sappy songs he will feature. Under gentle pressure, however, he drops three typically atypical titles: ’s “And So It Goes,” “I Won’t Send Roses” from Jerry Herman’s show Mack & Mabel, and “Somewhere Only We Know,” composed by the British alternative-rock band Keane. The Café Carlyle in got to experience Cumming’s spe- cial sappiness earlier in June. Call it, if you will, an out-of-town tryout for Ravinia. One wonders if New York hosted a preview of the Cumming attraction. “Who knows?” he muses. “I doubt it.” “No show is ever the same, even if it has the same set list,” Cumming insists. “The way I relate to the audi- ence, the city and the circumstances I find myself in all combine to make each show one-of-a-kind. In the past

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 19 when I have toured my concert show he declares. “Lance has been my musi- negative answer, the young man under- I have changed songs, dropped some cal director for every concert I have ever went DNA testing. To his disappoint- and added others; told some stories one done, and we have written several songs ment, the result was positive. show and dropped them the next. That’s together, and I sometimes sing songs of When he could escape his life, what makes it exciting. For me it is an his. Eleanor has played with [us] for the miserable on any level, he found oppor- adventure every time.” last couple of years. They’re my little tunities to dabble in the varied pursuits Fans longing for a permanent sou- musical family. I include them in the that eventually defined his far-reaching venir of the evening, or some facsimile stories I tell, and I ad-lib about and with talents, interests and contradictions, thereof, may find eventual comfort in them. They are a very big part of the including acting, singing and writing a recording or video. “I hopefully will evening.” It is Horne, not incidentally, (not necessarily in that order). He also David Lee Simmons, Times-Picayune/Landov

Alan Cumming (center) takes a bow with his performing partners pianist Lance Horne (left) and cellist Eleanor Norton (right).

make [an] of this show,” he who adapts the music to Cumming’s took an active interest in the mysterious says, “just like I did of my first show, strengths and specifications. “He does world of fashion, authoring chic maga- ‘I Bought a Blue Car Today.’ I want the hard work of arranging after we have zine pieces, including an article report- to wait and see which songs work and bashed out the tone and feel together.” ing on his experiences dressing as a what the shape of the evening needs to Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, woman for a day. He became fascinated be. It’s quite a nebulous thing, trying to Perthshire, Scotland, on January 27, with photography, launching the first of make the perfect cabaret or concert, and 1965. His painful childhood, document- several ambitious and successful exhib- the only way to know is to just play it in ed in his memoir Not My Father’s Son its in Hollywood. He marketed a line of front of audiences.” (2014), was dominated by violent men- perfumes and beauty products, the first For these types of engagements, tal and physical abuse at home. For some being a fragrance called “Cumming.” Cumming insists he relies heavily upon time there was confusion as to whether With characteristic wit, this was fol- his performing colleagues, who play or not the abuser, Alex Cumming, was lowed six years later by “The Second with him all evening long. “Absolutely,” biologically Alan’s father. Hoping for a Cumming.”

20 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 Maintaining dual citizenship and pardoned to ask if and when Cumming performance, sustaining both his attrac- spurred on by political idealism, sleeps. He shrugs off the silly question: tion and attention. Cumming also spent much time, ulti- “I’m a night owl.” “I wouldn’t have done it for so long mately in vain, advocating indepen- It could be argued that the defining if I had been tired,” Cumming explains. dence for Scotland. And in an early role of Cumming’s career has been the “It was an amazing thing to go back to literary flight he wrote a provocative proudly decadent Emcee of the Kit Kat a character three different times at very book, ’s Tale, subtitled “A Novel Klub in the Kander and Ebb musical different times in my life, and very dif- of Sex, Confusion, and Happy Endings.” Cabaret. The role was created, wittily yet ferent times in history. Each time I came Early in his career he portrayed a gently, by Joel Grey, but Cumming made back to it I felt I had more to offer, relatively conventional Hamlet, followed it his own in 1993 with a decidedly more I understood my role in it better and years later by an unprecedented Macbeth dangerous, more flamboyant, more con- I was more relaxed and entrenched in in which he undertook all—repeat, all— troversial characterization. Since then he the production. In a way it is not really the roles. In London he also enlivened has given a virtually endless string of per- a character. He doesn’t interact with the Bent, Martin Sherman’s excruciating formances in this signature piece, span- other actors very much, he is much more play about Nazi persecution and the so- ning two continents, that ended, at least engaged with the audience, and so as the called Night of the Long Knives. Equally for the nonce, in New York in March. For audience changes every night, it meant notable, and vastly dissimilar, was his many his outlandish, uninhibited, slea- that I never had the same show twice. assumption of in Brecht zily charming, daringly costumed (and There was also a lot of improv and pick- and Weill’s Threepenny Opera. partially uncostumed) portrayal reflects ing up on the mood of the evening and TV audiences currently admire him as his not-so-private life. Openly bisexual knowing how to guide and manipulate the smart politician Eli Gold on the hit (sometimes he calls himself pansexual), the audience. And so that kept it alive CBS series The Good Wife. The role is the actor was married first to a woman and exciting for all those performances.” modeled, to a degree, on Chicago Mayor and currently to a man, the graphic art- If nothing else (and there is much Rahm Emanuel. “I’ve never met him,” ist Grant Shaffer. Despite these official else), Alan Cumming knows how to Cumming says, “but people I know relationships, he proclaims a dislike for, guide and how to manipulate. He does it have told me he asked them to say he and disinterest in, monogamy. “I don’t his own wondrous way. liked my interpretation of Eli, who is of believe it is feasible,” he says. Keen course an homage to Mr. Emanuel.” observers also claim the accent and focus Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Martin Given his impossible schedule and of his interpretation—OK, imperson- Bernheimer covers music in New York insatiable involvements, one would be ation—has shifted from performance to for the Financial Times. David Lee Simmons, Times-Picayune/Landov

Alan Cumming toasts his audience after a recent show at the Joy Theater in .

22 22 RAVINIA RAVINIA MAGAZINE MAGAZINE | JUNE | JUNE 16 16- JUNE - JUNE 28, 28, 2015 2015 A Spirited Soul There’s no keeping up with this Jones By Donald Liebenson JACOB BLICKENSTAFF

24 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 s characteristically eclectic as sis of pancreatic cancer. She underwent I can and I’m working with a trainer. this season’s lineup is, it would surgery to remove a tumor and endured I take it one day at a time and as long as Anot be too much of a stretch chemotherapy. Her record company I’ve got my health and my strength, I’ll to call this Ravinia’s summer of soul. postponed not only the tour that year, keep busy and keep my music going.” The “Queen of Soul,” , but also the release of the album that has And Jones has never been busier. From returns to Ravinia on July 11 after an now brought Jones her widest audience Ravinia, she’s off to Michigan, then New absence of eight years. On September 11 yet, the Grammy-nominated Give the York and Ohio, then Canada and Texas. the “Empress of Soul,” Gladys Knight, People What They Want. And that’s just the next two weeks. will make her first appearance at Ravinia During her recovery, she didn’t even Considering what she’s been through, since 1992. But kicking things off on listen to music. “That would make me one would understand if Jones, known June 21 is Sharon Jones, taking the stage want to sing, and I couldn’t,” she said for her high-energy shows, took it down with her band, the Dap-Kings, for a bill during a phone interview. a notch onstage. But that would not be, shared with the Tedeschi Trucks Band as There have been many songs in as per the album title, giving the people part of their joint “ of Soul” tour. which the proclaims herself a what they want. One need only check This will mark Jones’s Ravinia debut, survivor. Jones is a real survivor. She is out a video posted on YouTube of a live and even before she sings a note it can be cancer free, in good health and in high performance in Paris last summer to see considered a triumph. Jones was on the spirits. “I’m really feeling good,” she that the jubilant Jones is bursting with Ravinia schedule in 2013, but she had to proclaimed. “My doctor says everything all the vivacity of Turner. One song bow out following a devastating diagno- is okay. I’m going to the gym when from the new album, “Get Up and Get KYLE DEAN REINFORD

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 25 Jones has been described as “the biggest star you don’t know about.” But that is changing.

Out,” written about bedbugs, Jones confides, took on a new meaning for her after she beat her cancer. In the video, with a fervor that recalls her earliest years singing gospel in church, she testifies:

The reason I shout is because I got something to shout about. When I was layin’ in the hospital, tubes all down my nose, didn’t know if I would live to see another day. … They said I was coming back too soon. … I’m glad I came back on this stage, so I could shout. This is what I told that cancer. I said, “Cancer, I want you to get up and get out of my body. And if you don’t get out, I’m gonna shout you out in my church.” We shout when we want somethin’ to hap- pen. We shout when we feeling good … and tonight … I’m feeling good.

Jones, 59, is not an overnight sensation. She recorded her first album when she was 40. She has, she said, always had the music in her, whether it was playing piano like her grandmother, or banging out ’s “Shake” on the toy drum her mother bought her. Born in Augusta, GA, she grew up in New York during the golden age of AM radio and basked in , Aretha, Otis, Tina, Gladys, and . The first album she bought was the Jackson Five’s ABC. But singing was “it” for her. She viv- idly remembers her role in her church’s Christmas play, singing “Silent Night” to the baby Jesus. She was in the third grade then. “I never stopped singing after that,” she said. “It’s what I was meant to do.” Jones performed with neighborhood bands and wedding bands (which she would

KYLE DEAN REINFORD draw on when later cast her as singer in The Wolf of Wall Street). She went through her “20 Feet from Stardom” phase, performing as a backup singer in the studio or onstage for the jam

26 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 about.” But that is changing. hailed Give the People What They Want as “sublime in period accuracy

KYLE DEAN REINFORD and in-the-moment passion.” The maga- zine also called Jones and “a national treasure and instant soul party.” She made high-profile appear- ances in support of the CD on the late-night circuit with the two Jimmys— Kimmel and Fallon—as well as David Letterman. “I don’t know if the album is a breakthrough,” she reflected. “I think we were just on our way up. It does put us on a different level.” Indeed, the album earned Jones her first Grammy nomination in the R&B category, but don’t get her started on that. Though “proud and grateful” to be nominated, she insists that there should be a separate category for , separate from today’s more pop-oriented R&B. “Don’t get me wrong,” Jones insists. “I’m not saying it’s not great. Just don’t call it soul.” In addition to her fleeting cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street, she also had a role opposite Denzel Washington in The Great Debaters. Does the future hold any more film appearances? She would love to provide the voice for an animated Disney character. “How cool would that be?” she enthused. band Phish as well as Lou Reed. To sound like it was done back in the day.” What is certain is that next year make ends meet, she worked as a correc- Jones is thrilled to know she is shar- marks the 20th anniversary of Jones and tions officer at Rikers Island, giving new ing the summer schedule with two of the Dap-Kings. They have two meaning to the phrase “captive audi- her and inspirations. Though she in the works, one of them a Christmas ence,” though she only sang once for has never met Knight, Jones includes a collection. She doesn’t ponder what her charges. “One night they refused to couple of the Empress’s songs: “I Heard would have happened if she had attained go into lock-up unless I sang for them,” It Through the Grapevine” and “Every instant success. “Everything happens in Jones said. “I sang one verse and chorus .” Jones met Franklin the time it was meant to,” she said. “If it of ‘Greatest Love of All’ and they went in 2010 on the occasion of an Apollo was meant to happen for me when I was into their cells.” Theatre tribute, for which she performed younger, it would have.” In 1996 she paired up with the Dap- one of the Queen’s signature songs, For now, she is “grateful and thank- Kings and recorded several singles for “Respect.” ful” to be singing her songs: “I’m blessed the fledgling Daptone Records label, Playing the legendary venue and per- just to be out performing and giving the gaining critical acclaim and a cult follow- forming for Franklin was an emotional people what they want.” ing among soul and funk aficionados and experience, Jones said. “I literally ran And what do the people want? collectors. They’ve since recorded six to knock on her [dressing room] door. “They want what we’re going to give full-length albums in the classic Motown I was hyperventilating like I was a little them,” she said, laughing, “good soul idiom. But Jones resists the label of retro kid. I said, ‘It’s such an honor to sing music.” soul singer. “To me, retro means a young your songs. I’m sorry I’m babbling.’ person trying to imitate another singer,” And then I ran back to the stage for the Donald Liebenson is a Chicago-based she said. “I’m not imitating anybody.” finale. Later I got to take my picture entertainment writer. His work has appeared in the , Yet she does proudly carry the flame with her.” Chicago Sun-Times, Times, for the artists who influenced her. “I’m Jones has been described by enter- and on RogerEbert.com. The first Ravinia putting a little bit of everyone I honor tainment reporter Roger Friedman concert he attended without his parents into these songs,” she said. “It’s going to as “the biggest star you don’t know was Procol Harum in 1970.

28 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 It’s Got JOSEPH SINNOTT, THIRTEENPRODUCTIONS LLC THIRTEENPRODUCTIONS JOSEPH SINNOTT,

30 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 It’s Got That Swing

Music means everything to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

By Andy Argyrakis

e’s been putting a masterful spin on the Great American Songbook Hsince the , earning the unparalleled distinction of landing albums on the Billboard charts in every decade from then through the present, selling over 50 million titles, and scooping up 18 Grammy Awards, a pair of , plus a plethora of other esteemed dis- tinctions too numerous to mention.

he’s been one of the most provocative and creative presences in pop Smusic since exploding onto the scene in 2008, selling an astounding 28 million albums and 140 million singles, taking home a half dozen Grammys and 13 MTV Video Music Awards, and being crowned by Rolling Stone as the “Queen of Pop.”

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 31 , TRUNK ARCHIVE; KEVIN MAZUR, GETTY IMAGES; STEVEN KLEIN BRYAN Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga have been enjoying a winter–spring “showmance” in the recording studio and on stage.

At fast glance, the 88-year-old Tony which they’re measured. But perhaps seminal and downright ageless songwrit- Bennett and 29-year-old Lady Gaga might most important in the case of their current ers like Cole Porter, , Cy not share much in common other than tour together, the pair didn’t just become Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy Van superstardom, but despite their age gap fast friends following a fateful meeting at Heusen, the pair got right down to the and divergent core musical disciplines, a New York benefit for the Robin Hood business of sculpting 2014’s sophisticated the relatively recent tag team in the stu- Foundation in 2011; they also learned . Not only did the collec- dio and onstage (who appear in sold-out they share a voracious affinity for so tion sell a million copies straight out of concerts at Ravinia on June 26 and 27) many unforgettable standards that tran- the gate and win the Grammy for Best might not be as unlikely a pair as initially scend genre and generation. Vocal Album earlier this assumed. For starters, Astoria, , “I had never heard anything that she year, but it also marked Gaga’s third con- native Bennett has always been one to did, so after I finished performing, I went secutive number-one album in America (a study the greats who helped forge his in to see what she was doing,” recalls record among female artists this decade) musical foundation, from to Bennett, immediately settling in like a while extending Bennett’s reign as the , and, of dear friend, of that first meeting. “She oldest artist to ever land in the top spot. course, Frank Sinatra, “The Chairman of had a huge audience and I couldn’t get “They’re hit songs and that’s what the Board,” who personally endorsed the over how much the public loved her. The happens,” a sweet and unhurried Gaga budding performer (and will coinciden- reaction was so phenomenal, I thought, muses, stepping outside of her larger- tally be honored September 4 at Ravinia ‘I’ve gotta go backstage and say hello than-life personality to shine the spotlight via the Sinatra Centennial multimedia to her.’ So at the end of her show, I went on the songs, many of which she’s been celebration starring Frank Sinatra Jr. and backstage and her mother and her father singing since childhood. “These are the the Ravinia Festival Orchestra). As for were there. When she came out and I said, true American hits, and you can only pray the Lady (and fellow New Yorker), she ‘I’m Tony Bennett,’ she said, ‘Oh my and hope that your music will stay around gleaned her surname from Queen’s famed God!’ She was thrilled that I had come, as long as the classics. These songs are single “Radio Ga Ga” and has clearly and I said, ‘You know, you went over so able to transcend the era they were cre- studied ’s and big! I never heard the public love some- ated in and travel through time into the ’s ability to consistently rein- body as much as they love you!’ And she future and have a life of their own with vent herself, even going so far as to com- said, ‘Oh, I would do anything to be able new experiences and new people. I think mission her own production team, Haus to sing with you.’ So I said, ‘Let’s do an this music is extremely powerful; it was of Gaga (think Andy Warhol’s Factory), album together,’ and she said, ‘Good, let’s created during an emotional time and it for costumes, stage sets and a slew of do it.’” stands the test of time. Jazz music was other inventive endeavors. Bennett and Gaga got their first taste of created out of the suffering and the fury And while neither is shy about wear- working together in a studio while record- of the African-American people as they ing such influences on their sleeves, both ing “,” the lead track were struggling to be treated equally. Bennett and Gaga are true innovators from the former’s chart-topping 2011 Tony is also such a huge proponent of the and mavericks in their respective fields, project II, as well as verification , and he was such remaining fiercely independent amidst that their chemistry proved so impenetra- a major figure during all of that. What’s changing cultural trends and, by doing ble that it demanded a full-length follow- nice to consider when we’re at Ravinia so, becoming the very barometers by up. After scanning through the annals of and we’re performing is that there’s that

32 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 extremely strong history, not just behind does the Great American Songbook [like watch Tony also makes me excited. More the repertoire, but with Tony himself. no other]. No other country has ever given than anything, I hope they see the genu- There is something that is extremely that many wonderful songs—George ine exchange of love between Tony and powerful and authentic, and the message Gershwin, Cole Porter, and me. I think it’s extremely rare in today’s is very, very strong still.” all the greatest composers that came out industry for there to be a true, authentic A quick scan of the CD case, vinyl of that era. Those songs will never die!” collaboration. Tony and I just adore each sleeve or online playlist instantly indi- Ravinia audiences will have the chance other and we adore this music.” cates just how much history is packed to experience these living, breathing com- Of course, Bennett’s no stranger to into Cheek To Cheek, from their duet on positions firsthand with the pair promis- Ravinia, having lost count after dozens the and Irving Mills origi- ing plenty of songs from Cheek To Cheek of appearances throughout his illustrious nal “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got and the surrounding era presented as both career—with a “sold out” sign above the That Swing)” to Bennett’s suave solo ren- duets and periodic solo performances. box office in practically every instance. dition of Ellington’s instrumental (turned Bennett ensures “a big swinging band” “Well, you know how much I love it. Mitchell Parish–penned) “Sophisticated that includes a string section, while Gaga Every time I play, the reaction is beauti- Lady” and Gaga’s individual rendering confides that the show changes from ful,” he says of what’s already been a of Billy Strayhorn’s breathtaking “Lush night to night, with edits to the set list tak- record-setting run at the oldest outdoor Life.” So what’s exactly been the source ing place right up until the curtain rises. musical festival in America. “How can I of the material’s longevity after all these “It’s a really nice show that is 100 be treated better than the way I’ve been years, according to a man who’s cast fresh percent focused on the music and 100 per- treated at Ravinia? It’s so beautiful there interpretations for nearly as long? cent focused on the relationship between to feel all the citizens of the Chicago “Well, because they’re very honest me and Tony and our growth together area cheering me on. The Chicago audi- musicians and they’re very creative,” as friends,” she continues, sounding just ence has been so great to me through the hypothesizes Bennett. “It’s so improvi- as excited about her debut at the venue. years. They’ve kept me right on top and sational and it’s spontaneous, so they “I think it’s going to be a fantastic show I’ll never get over how wonderful they’ve express how they feel about things and I think that the people in Ravinia will treated me. And now coming in there with through their instruments, and what hap- really, really enjoy it. I’m always excited Lady Gaga, I can’t wait because the show pens is, when you perform that way, to connect with all the people that we get is going over so big. I think it’s gonna just your music never sounds old-fashioned or to meet in these different communities as be thrilling for me to watch the reaction.” dated. If you listen to a Louis Armstrong we travel and to get to play them these Though each vocalist is a touring titan record today, it still sounds like he’s still classic records. It’s an exciting experi- in their own regard, aside from the PBS around, and Duke Ellington’s the same ence; it’s always new and it’s always mag- performance turned DVD Tony Bennett way. And of course the great Sinatra, who ical. Getting to see them light up as they and Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek Live! ERIK KABIK “These are the true American hits, and you can only pray and hope that your music will stay around as long as the classics. These songs are able to transcend the era they were created in and travel through time into the future and have a life of their own with new experiences and new people.” –Lady Gaga 34 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 and a few other select engagements, this day. Tony had the same experience, so I She’s had very good schooling and she summer marks their first full-fledged col- like to think that it’s extremely important knows what she’s doing. She was just laborative tour. No wonder both artists that I show the world and my fans as playing to little teeny boppers, but what seem genuinely fascinated and elated by much as possible what it means to have I love is when [they picked up the album the rapturous public reception thus far in a heart and to be loyal and dedicated to I did with her], those little teeny boppers what’s shaping up to be one of the most your craft, to not be in it for the money or had never heard swing music in their life. diverse bodies of record buyers and con- , but to show them what it is to Those standards never get old, they get certgoers either has ever seen, spanning live a life of dedication to art and beauty, better every year! Now, working with the very young to the still young at heart. which is Tony Bennett. He really is an Lady Gaga is twice as good as before. She “It’s always so exciting to sell records, incredible man and I hope that my fan has her audience, I have my audience, and especially an album that is bridging a base [comes to understand] the power of together it’s everybody. It’s not about the 60-year gap between its partners, and I passion that this man has displayed. And young or the old; it’s back to the audience think this music touches just about every- I hope that his fans see that my generation being a family of all different ages.” one,” enthuses Gaga. “Tony and I are is able to conceive of that hard-working As the interview draws to a close, just serving the composers and keeping spirit, that ambition and that passion and Gaga can’t resist giving Bennett one this wonderful music alive. I’m serving to celebrate it.” additional tribute, crediting him with Tony in honoring the years and years of Bennett is quick to return the compli- more than simply rejuvenating her musi- dedication that he’s had to this music. ments, both firsthand and those he’s heard cal muse, but also becoming a personal You have to remember that Tony was from longtime listeners who profess to be mentor whose wisdom lasts long after the making jazz music right when rock ’n’ aficionados of the classic canon. “When stage lights dim. “Tony has taught me so roll was invented, and as soon as [that they heard her sing, [they said] she’s a much,” she reiterates. “I like people who happened], jazz and its relationship with great jazz singer!” he confirms. “The like to get deep quickly, and I don’t like the public changed because of radio. It’s way she sings, it’s never going to sound to sit around on the surface for too long very similar to the things that I deal with old-fashioned! She’s a great, spontaneous with anyone. Tony is just like me and he today as changes from day to singer and she plays great jazz piano. goes straight to a more emotional, life- changing conversation. He’s interested in touching people’s lives, and so am I. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga have entertained capacity crowds He’s been through so much. He shared from Los Angeles to New Orleans to New York, and they will play two sold-out nights at Ravinia on June 26 and 27. so many amazing life stories with me— amazing stories like his friendship with BARRY BRECHEISEN BARRY Duke Ellington—and I’m just extremely honored. Working with Tony, I have real- ized how young I truly am and how much I have ahead of me. I felt so weary from the business, but he really helped to cure that in me with this music because I was instantly reawakened as my 14-year-old self singing these tunes, and I remem- bered why I got into music to begin with. Nobody can teach you how to sing jazz— you either got it or you don’t. And I’ll tell you something, if I couldn’t sing jazz, he sure as hell wouldn’t be singing with me. He would not have made an album with me. I have a lot of reverence for Tony and he’s extremely important to me in my life.”

Andy Argyrakis is a Chicago-based writer/photographer whose credits include the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Illinois Entertainer, Concert Livewire, Chicago Now, Redeye, Metromix, Paste, Downbeat, MTV.com, Fuse TV, Pollstar and Celebrity Access, among many others. He also is the founder and content curator for ChicagoConcertReviews.com.

36 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 Come Hell or Black Water

The Doobie Brothers are determined to keep you on your feet

By Tricia Despres

38 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 “ o you really want to do this?” It’s a simple enough question between a Dfather and a daughter, perhaps on the day she goes off to college or the day she takes the hand of her spouse. But when asked by Doobie Brothers’ lead singer to his aspiring-musician daughter, the question took on a whole new gravity, coming from not only a father with the best interests of his daughter in mind, but a musician who has gone through his share of ups and downs within the constantly evolving world of music.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 39 The Doobie Brothers may have changed personnel over the years, but since the group’s Ravinia debut in 1997, its look has scarcely wavered.

His daughter’s answer to the thought-provoking question With a more than 40-year career during which the band has didn’t surprise him all that much, Johnston says, because it was sold over 48 million albums, snagged four Grammy Awards the same exact answer he once gave all those years ago back and amassed five top-10 singles and 16 top-40 hits, the Doobie in California to all who doubted his own musical dreams. Here Brothers currently find themselves in that sweet spot where and now, Johnston’s daughter, Lara, is a singer-songwriter like they not only love where they are, but also love reminiscing dad, and is opening for his legendary rock band at its June 30 on all the places they have been. “If I were to look back on show at Ravinia. everything we’ve done and pick a favorite time in the span of “Ravinia is such a beautiful place,” begins Johnston, speak- our career, I would have to say it would be that period of time ing over the phone from a tour bus on a rare day off in the before we hit it big,” recalls Johnston, who served as song- middle of San Antonio, TX, where he and his Doobie Brothers writer on such Doobie Brothers hits as “,” bandmates and John McFee will play a show “Rockin’ Down the Highway,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and the next day. “There is something about looking at the greenery “.” “We were having a great time. We were and playing amidst that beautiful background that definitely broke. We barely had money to pay the rent, but we could play gives you a lift as a band. Plus the crowds are always respon- music all day. We were going to college and hanging out with a sive at Ravinia … always.” lot of people that we really liked. My Volkswagen had gas in it A co-founder of the Doobie Brothers back in 1969 (along- and I could go wherever I wanted. [Laughs] It was just a really side Simmons), Johnston currently finds himself in the middle cool time for me.” of a cramped tour schedule that will take the revitalized band When stardom arrived for the Doobie Brothers, everything all over the country in the coming months, including a late- changed. “We hit this point where our songs were being played summer stint of shows with classic rocker Gregg Allman. on the radio and we were winning awards. Pretty soon we were “I think that Chicago is one of the towns that the band always gone all the time, and that carefree, happy-go-lucky vibe pretty looks forward going to,” Johnston says. “Selfishly, we would much walked right out of the door,” Johnston intones in a more love some time off there to just hang around Michigan Avenue mellow voice. “All of a sudden, you are out working 260 dates and eat at all the amazing restaurants and just soak up the atmo- a year and if you are not on the road, you are in the studio. It sphere there. It’s one of those cities that we put red stars on the was like being on some sort of wild and crazy carnival ride.” calendar for. [Laughs] It’s just so different than all the other big The carnival ride continues for the Doobie Brothers, but cities. There is such a laid-back attitude there even though it’s Johnston says that these days everything feels so incredibly a big city. It’s hard to explain. All I know is that it’s just very different. “Those days where you could just be footloose and comfortable for us to be there.” fancy-free, playing some pizza parlors in the mountains and

40 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 ANDY ARGYRAKIS

The Doobie Brothers’ ax men, Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee (left to right), keep their long train of hits runnin’.

hoping to make it in this crazy music business are long gone,” this point in our career is to play our music and get that sort of he explains. “These days, you have to play all the time and reaction from the crowd,” says Johnston. “If we can get people build a following. I mean, it’s tough out there. The sheer num- up on their feet and dancing, we have accomplished what we ber of people trying to get in the business has skyrocketed, and came to do.” Of course, they do have some other goals. “We there are a lot less doors to walk through.” will put out new music, but I just don’t know when,” Johnston Fortunately, there has remained a vibrant, strong and loyal says. “Things are so different now. Albums are not selling, even fan following for the band from California. “We are really downloading is going down, and now streaming is the thing to lucky to have had fans stick with do. [Sighs] We just need to take us for such a long time,” Johnston the time to write once we get off says. “Plus we continue to be able the road. I’m curious as to what to pick up younger audiences we may come up with. I wouldn’t that have gotten turned on to the mind taking it in a few different band. In the crowds in front of directions.” us, we see everyone from teens For now the proud father is to people our age. It’s really fas- content watching his daugh- cinating.” ter make strides in the music Indeed, young and old alike business, knowing deep down latched onto the band’s 2014 that she might just end up fol- release, Southbound, a collabora- lowing in his fateful footsteps. tive album that reunited the band “Watching her go through this, I with former lead singer just try to be as encouraging as I McDonald and a slew of country can,” Johnston concludes. “As a artists, including Blake Shelton, musician and a singer and a song- Sara Evans and the Zac Brown writer, she is just incredible, and Band. “It was a challenge but Tom and Lara Johnston at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, she has worked so very hard. I am also quite a kick for us,” Johnston where the Doobie Brothers were given the Voice of Music Award amazed that she has the heart and recalls. “It brought us in front of a earlier this year. determination to do it.” totally different crowd that we had never played to, and culmi- So what was her answer when he asked her if she really nated with our performance on the CMA Awards. Heck, it drew wanted to do this? “She told me that she couldn’t imagine me to sit down and do some songwriting with some amazing doing anything else,” Johnston says. “And I know exactly what people in Nashville, which is something I might have never she means.” done if it wasn’t for this album.” Tricia Despres is a Chicago-area freelance entertainment writer These days one of the Doobie Brothers’ main goals is put- whose work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, ting on a live show that gets their crowds up dancing and Country Weekly and Advertising Age. Follow her on Twitter having fun. “One of the most rewarding things for us to do at at @CHIwriter.

42 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 CAROL FRIEDMAN

IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bobby McFerrin hears the history behind the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess By Mark Thomas Ketterson

ome years ago I was browsing returns to Ravinia on July 8 to conduct through bins of CDs at a music the hits from Gershwin’s Porgy and Ssuperstore and one album virtually Bess, revealed himself to be an amazing jumped off the rack and yelled, “Buy one-man band as he provided percus- me!” The album was entitled Hush, and sion, counterpoint and, of course, the pictured on the cover were two smiling vocals—all in that unique voice of his. gentlemen I admired very much: cellist His sound, with its bits of pop, funk Yo-Yo Ma and the inimitable, mul- and dashes of other things, was impos- tiple Grammy Award–winning singer sible to classify, almost as if McFerrin and conductor Bobby McFerrin. It was embodied the muse of music itself. a happy photo, and a very happy CD. That musical spirit was likely inborn: The title cut was a delightful rendition of McFerrin is the son of singer Sara “Hush Little Baby” that had me bobbing Copper and the great Robert McFerrin, my head the whole drive home. Ma did who is well remembered as the first wonderful things, and McFerrin, who African-American man to sing at the

Bobby McFerrin (above, far right) first appeared at Ravinia in 1987, the year before “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” made him a worldwide sensation. Coincidentally, his father, Robert McFerrin (right), sang at Ravinia in 1957, the year before he dubbed the singing voice of Porgy in Otto Preminger’s film version ofPorgy and Bess. Two years earlier he had become the first African- American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, performing the role of Amonasro in Verdi’s ; he is pictured here in costume reading fan mail.

44 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 One Free Month*

Metropolitan Opera. McFerrin Sr. make the sounds I could hear in my head. bowed at the Met in 1955, three weeks I can think of many moments when influ- after contralto broke ences really hit hard: watching the movie the color barrier for Met singers with Zulu with Michael Caine, there was a her historic performance in Verdi’s Un scene with African music and dance; ballo in maschera. Opera buffs tend listening to ; hearing Herbie towards obsession, so the parade of Hancock with the Mwandishi band—too female singers who graced the company many to count. And I know that working in the wake of Anderson’s success has for so many years as a pianist—I started tended to eclipse the contributions of the working at 14 and didn’t realize I was a gentlemen (not to mention that of balle- singer until I was 27—had a lot of effect rina Janet Collins, who was actually the on the way I hear things. I like to map first black artist at the Met). McFerrin out the bass line and the harmony and the Sr. had already distinguished himself melody. But honestly, the osmosis effect on Broadway and at the was still the key; I think everything we Opera with a glorious, ringing baritone hear shapes how we hear the next thing.” that made him an ideal interpreter of In 1958 McFerrin Sr. scored an Verdi. He was to remain for several assignment that would have a profound years at the Met, where his assignments impact on his son: he was hired to dub included Amonasro in Aida (the vehicle the singing for Sidney Poitier in of his debut) as well as the title role Otto Preminger’s film rendition of Rigoletto and Valentin in Gounod’s of George Gershwin’s classic Faust. His milieu was music; quite a folk opera Porgy and Bess, heady environment for his son Robert based on the play of the Jr. (who we all know as “Bobby”) and same name byDuBose his daughter Brenda. “I grew up in a and Dorothy Heyward • DAILY SOCIAL CALENDAR house full of music,” Bobby McFerrin (as well as DuBose’s recalls. “All kinds of music. I can’t original novel, Porgy, • FURNISHED APARTMENTS begin to tell you how grateful I am for from which the play • that. I have lots of specific memories: was adapted). FINE DINING VENUES all of us singing together, hiding under the piano listening to my father teach and practice, going to church with my mother to sing in the choir, ‘conducting’ our stereo as it played Beethoven, my Join Our Exclusive Club mom putting on music to make me feel better when I was sick. I know all those If you act quickly, you could be the newest member experiences shaped me as a musician of The Merion Charter Club. and as a person.” Although we tend to associate Bobby McFerrin as a vocalist, he began his for- The Merion is Chicagoland’s newest luxury senior rental community mal musical training on the clarinet, later located in the heart of vibrant downtown Evanston. Just two blocks turning to piano. “I never imagined I’d from Lake Michigan and steps away from Evanston’s retail and be anything but a musician,” he explains. “I thought I’d be different from everyone restaurant hub, you will love living here. But most of all, else in the family by becoming an instru- you will enjoy the extraordinary dining experience and high-end mentalist instead of a vocalist.” Vocal amenities at this newly renovated luxury senior residence. influences in this household were ines- capable, however, and McFerrin soon Call today for information to learn how you can join this exclusive Club. found himself studying voice “by osmo- sis.” “I listened to my father practice and teach. He was very hard on his students, and even harder on himself; he held a very high standard for music making. RETIREMENT LIVING. REDEFINED. I can’t imagine a better formal education. But I also just spent a lot of time in RETIREMENT APARTMENTS a room, singing and singing, learning to 877-394-3971 46 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 *Ask for details. MerionEvanston.com

Charter-8.25x10.5wBLD-ChartMedia.indd 1 5/27/15 10:43 AM CORY WEAVER, OPERA WEAVER, CORY With its recent popularity, Porgy and Bess has also come under scrutiny for its portrayal of African-American culture. When Gershwin conducted his suite from the opera at Ravinia in 1936, the program notes (above) were less than sympathetic about the recurring theme of drug use, represented at left in San Francisco Opera’s 2009 broadcast production.

I could have used the overture he wrote for the film.” McFerrin categorically denies reports that he sought to res- cue the score from classical musicians who lost its jazz elements, however. “I really don’t think I’ve ever said that. On the contrary, sometimes it’s hard for orchestra musicians to swing, but I’ve conducted this score many times and I don’t remember a single time it was a problem. The swing is written into the score. He [Gershwin] knew exactly what he wanted.” The influence of Porgy and Bess on the music world is inestimable. The opera premiered in 1935 at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway (a proper unveiling in an opera house for a work cast with black singers was deemed unthinkable in those less enlightened times), where it ran for an impressive 124 performances. A toehold in the operatic repertory took some time to achieve, at least in the . “When my father got the job singing the became the background music for our Paradoxically, given that the piece is now part of Porgy, everything changed for lives for a good long while.” regarded as the Great American Opera, my family and for me. The memories The score has become essential for America was a bit late to her own party. are all mixed up together: moving to Los McFerrin as an adult as well. Since the Porgy and Bess enjoyed operatic currency Angeles, going to the beach, listening 1990s he has won great acclaim with in Europe before becoming fully estab- to dad sing the songs, seeing the palm a concert version that has graced vari- lished at home, sometimes performed trees, getting to meet Sammy Davis Jr., ous musical centers, including Ravinia by Caucasian performers in blackface watching the choir rehearse under Ken in 1997. “I got to meet André Previn, (a practice the Gershwin estate soon Darby. Then the album came out and we too,” he remembers. “When I first con- clamped down on). A celebrated mount- played it over and over again. The music ducted the piece, I called him. I wished ing at Houston Grand Opera in 1976

48 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 CORY WEAVER, SAN FRANCISCO OPERA WEAVER, CORY

Eric Owens (Porgy, right) reassures Laquita Mitchell (Bess, left) that “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” in San Francisco Opera’s 2009 production of Porgy and Bess. The aria’s lyrics have been a source of controversy among Porgy interpreters, with some prefer- ring to substitute the grammatically correct “are.” Owens adhered to Gershwin’s original lyrics in San Francisco and in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s recent production.

led to a much-needed re-evaluation, and was sincerely, personally drawn to the the opportunity to savor McFerrin’s take Porgy and Bess finally entered the reper- sounds and tried to follow the music and on Gershwin’s masterpiece with sing- tory of the Metropolitan Opera in 1985. let it lead. The question of dialect and ers including Broadway’s Brian Stokes Lyric Opera of Chicago has twice enjoyed pronunciation comes up around the spir- Mitchell and the delectable sopra- tremendous success with the piece, first ituals, too. I have such incredible memo- no Nicole Cabell. He’s also enlisted in 2008 and again in 2014. In the mean- ries of my dad in our living room work- Josephine Lee—with whom he’s worked time, Porgy and Bess has seen innumer- ing on the spirituals with the legendary on his last two Ravinia appearances, able reinterpretations in every conceivable [composer/arranger] Hall Johnson. He including the 2003 gala with Kathleen musical genre from pop to rock to jazz— coached both Marian Anderson and my Battle and Denyce Graves—to assemble it’s estimated that “Summertime,” the dad in singing that material and spear- and prepare the chorus. score’s biggest hit tune, has been covered headed a lot of the efforts to bring Before wrapping up, I cannot resist by over 33,000 artists. those songs into the concert halls. His telling McFerrin how much he cheered With that popularity has come con- grandmother was a slave, and he had me up with that Hush Little Baby collabo- troversy, particularly in this post–civil very specific ideas about the ‘right’ way ration with Yo-Yo Ma. “Collaborations rights era, when the depiction of southern to pronounce the lyrics. And maybe are a joy,” he enthuses, “and I’ve had blacks in Porgy and Bess has been seen those ways sound contrived or politi- some great ones: Yo-Yo, Chick Corea, the by some as patronizing and demeaning, cally incorrect now, but for him that was Yellowjackets, Voicestra, the Spirityouall despite the ineffably beautiful music. the true sound of it. If I thought there band. All different, all wonderful. Rumors circulated about one Met - was real racism in the piece, I’d talk to “I think my job as an artist is to bring tone who declined to sing “Bess, You the audience about it when I perform joy. That’s it. When I’m on stage I try to Is My Woman Now” as written, prefer- it. It is fascinating how the piece has invite the audience into the incredible ring to substitute the grammatically cor- functioned in the freelance economy. It’s feeling of joy and freedom I get when rect “are.” Composer Ned Rorem, when needed the casting of a lot of wonderful commissioned for an operatic adaptation African-American singers, and I think I sing, when I follow the music forward. I want the audience to leave the theater of another Heyward novel, Mamba’s that’s good. I’m glad they are working.” Daughters, withdrew from the project, They certainly are. A glance at the feeling better than they felt when they stating, “How could a white artist, how- resumés of some of the most internation- came in. I want to remind us all of what ever compassionate, presume to depict ally celebrated singers of the last sev- a joy it is to be alive, to dance and sing, a black nightmare from the inside out?” eral decades, from and to make music together.” “As we look back at it now, it seems William Warfield, to and Mark Thomas Ketterson is the Chicago dated and stereotypical,” McFerrin Simon Estes, as well as Adina Aaron and correspondent for Opera News. He has admits. “But I think Gershwin was mak- Eric Owens, reveals an association with also written for Playbill, Chicago maga- ing a sincere effort to tell the truth. He Porgy and Bess. Even Maya Angelou zine, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston did his homework, he visited churches once took part in an international tour of Grand Opera, Washington National and neighborhoods, and I can tell he the work. Ravinia’s audience will have Opera, and the Kennedy Center.

50 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 RUSSELL JENKINS No Time (Capsule) Like the Present Finding finality with five concerts of favorites By James Conlon

54 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 his summer marks 41 years since I first visited Ravinia, 38 since I first conducted here, and 10 years (making it 11 sea- sons) since I became music director of the Chicago Symphony TOrchestra’s residency. Ravinia has been with me in one form or another for almost the entirety of my adult life. I have conducted many concerts, met many people, watched the CSO go through an entire generational change, and made many friends. I designed my programs for this my final season as music director to represent some of the major themes of the past 11 seasons. Each of the five programs has great significance for me. The concert on July 22 is a re-creation of one of the two programs I conducted for my Ravinia-debut weekend in 1977. For that original performance Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488, was played by John Browning, who back then was a fixture at the festival, and this year’s concert will feature Garrick Ohlsson, who has similarly become a regular guest at Ravinia. Mahler’s First Symphony made up the sec- ond half of the concert. At the time, I chose two pieces I loved, but the program in a way previewed the major cycles of those two composers’ works I would present over the course of my years as music director. A cycle consisting of all of Mozart’s piano concertos occupied sev- eral seasons. Many artists—some established and some just starting out—took part. Taken as a whole, the piano concertos are monumental. The limitless invention, variety of moods, deep expression and virtuosity have very few parallels in the classical music repertory. The same can be said of the composer’s operas, which formed the second Mozart cycle. In the Martin Theatre, over six years we produced semi-staged versions of seven Mozart operas (reprising two that were among his famed col- laborations with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte) with the CSO at the center of the stage.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 55 During his Ravinia directorship, James Conlon has delved deeply into the music of (left to right) Mahler and Mozart; Russian masters, including Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky; and composers whose works were suppressed in their lifetimes, like Zemlinsky.

With the 100th anniversary of Gustav core of the Russian orchestral repertory. (celebrating the centenary of his birth Mahler’s death being marked in 2011, That being said, Mussorgsky wrote few with his final three) as well as two of rather than trying to do all of the sym- works solely for orchestra, and those we his concertos at Ravinia, but this, too, phonies in one season—as know are often in orchestrations by other is merely a suggestion of a larger body organized with the CSO at Ravinia in composers (particularly Ravel, Rimsky- of work when one realizes that he wrote 1979, and in which I took part—we Korsakov and Shostakovich). I can think 15 each of symphonies and string quar- started the cycle several seasons ear- of almost no composer who left so few tets, aside a massive number of solo lier, performing all nine symphonies completed works that conversely has pieces, choral works and several operas. and the Deryck Cooke edition of the had an extensive influence on 20th- Rachmaninoff is more the direct musical Adagio from the Tenth Symphony, as century music. The three orchestral descendent of Tchaikovsky. Mussorgsky well as Das Lied von der Erde and Das pieces from Khovanshchina are but a and Tchaikovsky were on opposite klagende Lied, by the time of the mile- small taste of this massive and power- sides of the 19th-century polemics in stone. So on July 22 I will not only be ful opera with well over three hours of Russian music, and one could say that remembering my debut, but those three music. Spiritually, Shostakovich was Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff contin- cycles that occupied a central place in to the 20th century what Mussorgsky ued those lines respectively in the 20th. my programming. was to the 19th, with the real difference During my Ravinia years I have had The Russian repertory has also had being that the former was disciplined the pleasure of working with many a major presence during my Ravinia and prolific whereas his predecessor young soloists in many different capaci- tenure. The three composers represented was scattered and unable to produce ties, both on stage and at the Steans on my July 23 program—Mussorgsky, (or often finish) works and was eventu- Institute. I wanted to represent the suc- Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich—along ally consumed by his own weakness cess of all those young soloists, and the with Tchaikovsky (who has his own pro- and died at an early age. I have direct- phenomenal pianist Lise de la Salle fits gram, which I will detail later) are the ed five of Shostakovich’s symphonies that bill perfectly.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 57 At Ravinia, Conlon has had a bountiful onstage collaboration with pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, as well as with many young stars, such as Lise de la Salle (below). PATRICK GIPSON PATRICK

An all-Tchaikovsky concert has been a staple of the Ravinia repertory for many years, and I have done quite a few of these. The form is usually the violin or a piano concerto plus an orchestral piece, ending with the “1812” Overture. Upon learning that Maxim Vengerov was available to play with us, it was an obvious year to choose the violin concerto. When I tried to think of what I had never done in this context and would love to, I immediately thought of Swan Lake. Although I have conducted The Nutcracker in its entirety as a con- cert piece, to my regret I have never STÉPHANE GALLOIS and works by Adolph Busch, Wilhelm done the complete Swan Lake. For the Grosz, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and August 1 concert, I decided to represent Darius Milhaud have also been featured. that as-yet-unfulfilled wish with several Die Seejungfrau represents all of that excerpts that I particularly like (if one music that is gradually regaining a much can even comfortably make such a state- deserved place in the repertory more ment) instead of the traditional suite. than half a century after the atrocities An important feature of almost every that almost consigned them to oblivion Ravinia season in the past 11 years has were committed. been a concert opera in the Pavilion. The Zemlinsky was brought up in the highlights include Verdi’s Otello, Aida, school of Johannes Brahms, and so I Rigoletto and Requiem (if you consider thought pairing these two composers, by it, as many do, to be his greatest opera); way of the latter’s First Piano Concerto, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Tosca; was an appropriate way to also pay trib- and Richard Strauss’s Salome, alternat- ute to one of the many artists with whom ing in recent years with two performanc- I have enjoyed an ongoing and fruitful es each of a pair of Mozart’s operas, semi-staged in the Martin Theatre. collaboration. Jorge Federico Osorio has While not consider any operatic In my first year at the festival, I perhaps appeared with me as much or season complete without at least one inaugurated a series featuring rarely more than any other soloist, including Mozart, Verdi or Wagner opera, I have played music by composers whose for concertos by Mozart and Schumann, never conducted any of the latter here. works were suppressed during their life- as well as a complete cycle of those by To rectify that omission, The Flying times and whose legacies have been Beethoven. Dutchman will be my final concert, on stunted after their deaths. We called the I feel that the longer I live, the more August 15. I am grateful for the col- series “Breaking the Silence” at Ravinia I love Tchaikovsky’s music. I came to laboration with the Chicago Symphony (I employed the name “Recovered Russian music first through Mussorgsky, Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Voices” in Los Angeles). To represent so perhaps that left me with a reticence Chorus over these years, and I liked this cause, I have chosen to feature to embrace his music. Or possibly it was the idea that I would finish my years as Alexander Zemlinsky and his massive that strange snobbery that afflicted us Ravinia’s music director together with tone poem Die Seejungfrau, which is musicians in our conservatory years. In all of them on the stage of the Pavilion. based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The any case, that is all over and done. With Little Mermaid. I have drawn extensive- each passing year I discover more music In future issues of Ravinia Magazine ly from the music of Viktor Ullmann, to love (I just conducted The Queen of this season, James Conlon will recall his Erwin Schulhoff, Franz Schreker and Spades for ) and more to favorite memories of conducting at the Kurt Weill in addition to Zemlinsky, love in the music I already know. festival since his 1977 debut.

58 RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 FoodStuff By Ali Saboor, Executive Chef at Ravinia

Ravinia is wonderfully unique in so many ways, which is why it has become such a tradition for so many genera- tions of music lovers over the years. There are so few places where you can lay out a blanket in fresh-cut grass and bask in the summer sun while listening to some of the best live music in Chicago. While picnicking is one of the most celebrated aspects of Ravinia, by the time you get all your necessary accoutrements in order, you think to yourself, now I have to carry all of this? Actually, you don’t! While planning the menus at Ravinia Market, I keep this concept in mind. Our Grab ’n’ Go area is specifically designed both for guests who want to build their picnic from scratch or add a few extra treats to their homemade basket. We have many options for each picnic piece, and plenty of adult- and kid-friendly beverages to round out your meal under the stars. This year I’ve added a few new items to our menu based on what I would make for my family and friends on a summer afternoon. I start with kale and artichoke dip, a spin on a classic that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. I’ve also introduced a broccoli, almond and cranberry salad; steering away from the typical bowl full of lettuce, this hearty dish holds strong even on the hottest of days. The mortadella and feta sandwich might be my favorite new Grab ’n’ Go item. Paring these two rich tastes with cucumber, tomatoes, olives and mint makes it the perfect balance of flavor and freshness. At everyone’s favorite detour, the Sweet Stop, you will find a wide array of signature cakes, fresh baked cookies, ice cream novel- ties and a selection of cupcakes with fun, new flavors. Next time you visit Ravinia, stop by the Market and build a delicious picnic in just a few minutes. While you’re at it, stop at the Ravinia Gift Shop next door, where you can buy blankets, chairs and lots of fun things to fancy up your spread. With all these options once you arrive, you can come to your next concert empty-handed.

Cheers! Chef Ali Saboor Kale, Spinach and Artichoke Dip Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients • 16 ounces Greek yogurt • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise • 2 tablespoons honey • 1 cup kale, finely chopped • 1 cup spinach, finely chopped • ¼ cup carrot, finely chopped • 1 cup artichoke hearts, quartered • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed • ½ teaspoon salt • ¼ teaspoon pepper • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. This dip is extra flavorful after it has been refrigerated for a few hours. Serve with chips, crackers or vegetables.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 59 Mickey, Movies and Music By Jack Zimmerman while the opening titles roll. It’s one of those Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Stra- perfect cinema moments—so much beauty vinsky, Ponchielli, Elgar and Respighi are For most of my life, I’ve listened to classical before so much brutality. all represented between Fantasia and its music. For all of my life, I’ve gone to the Or the greatest bicycle movie of all sequel, Fantasia 2000, but it’s the animation movies. My idea of a good time has noth- time, Breaking Away, with Mendelssohn’s of Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ing to do with a lavish vacation or a dinner ever-buoyant and joyful “Italian” Symphony that completely captivates audiences in at Alinea. Give me a ticket to a Chicago accompanying the hero, a small-town kid both. In a bit of inspired cartoon slapstick, Symphony Orchestra concert or a pass to with Tour-de-France legs, as he pedals his Mickey Mouse is a hapless apprentice who any movie theater and I’m happy camper. way to adulthood in Bloomington, IN. tries out some of his master’s magic tricks While the worlds of a high art (classi- Of course, there’s 10 with Dudley Moore and things soon get out of control. cal music) and pop culture (movies) are as a mid-life troll who becomes obsessed These days Paul Dukas is viewed as usually distant from one another, occa- with a young, beautiful and newly married a one-hit wonder, with The Sorcerer’s sionally, they intersect. A Apprentice being that movie soundtrack might one hit. Dukas was close have an excerpt from friends with Debussy the art-music canon, and that coupling of film and more than a nodding and music can become acquaintance of Saint- the movie’s defining Saëns. Born in 1865 to moment, at least for me. a banker father and pia- For instance, Apocalypse nist mother, Dukas began Now has that epic scene piano lessons at a young wherein Robert Duvall— age. At 14 he began com- who plays whack-job Col. posing and by age 16 he Kilgore (“I love the smell was studying at the Paris of napalm in the morn- Conservatory. He wrote ing”)—has a fleet of heli- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice copters attack the enemy. in 1892, and the 12-min- Richard Wagner’s “Ride ute piece quickly over- of the Valkyries,” blaring shadowed all his other from the helicopters, is works. In later life he was the chaos-inspiring music a highly regarded teacher, that makes that scene so and among his students unforgettable. were future compos- woman played by Bo Derek. Ravel’s Bolero Or 2001: A Space Odyssey, with the open- ers Olivier Messiaen, Carlos Chávez, and ing bars of Richard Strauss’s Also sprach is the perfect seduction music. Who would Joaquín Rodrigo. Dukas was incredibly self- Zarathustra pulsating through the theater’s have thought that music featuring a snare critical. He destroyed a good many of his sound system as a tribe of early human wan- drum could be so ? works simply because he was dissatisfied nabes gets booted from their water hole by a But my all-time favorite coupling of with them. rival tribe. One of the wannabes figures out classical music and film is Walt Disney’s Dukas died in 1935 at the age of 69, only the principle of leverage as applied to head- Fantasia. It’s an animated feature-length thumping. He uses a large bone to kill the movie that’s all about classical music and five years before Fantasia was premiered. leader of the other tribe and recaptures the the Disney artists’ visual images that the On Sunday, July 12, Ted Sperling con- water hole. The scene makes so much more music inspires. Instead of fitting music ducts the CSO for a showing of highlights sense than the rest of the movie. to already existing pictures, Disney con- from Disney’s Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, Or Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, the structed a group of visual stories that fit sev- and Mickey will don his sorcerer’s hat story of a professional boxer who destroys eral established orchestral masterpieces. The once more. himself and nearly everyone else around original Fantasia (1940), which was shown him. Scorsese chose the simple and incred- in theaters equipped with special sound Jack Zimmerman has written a couple of ibly beautiful Intermezzo from Mascagni’s systems, featured an orchestra conducted by novels and numerous newspaper columns opera Cavalleria rusticana, which plays Leopold Stokowski. and has told stories his entire life.

JUNE 16 - JUNE 28, 2015 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 65